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The disc is titled The Processed, and is, as the name suggests, an album of remixes of tracks from Ninetynine's most recent album, The Process. It consists of eight remixes, all done by one guy on a computer. For the most part, the mixes ditch the instrumentals altogether, taking only the vocal tracks layering them on top of beats, synths and the like. The styles of the tracks vary from straight dance music to glitchy IDM experimentalism, and from the competent to the excellent. The tracks are:
- Black Metal Figure -- A driving dance mix of the song, with the Stereolab-ish Casiotone chords removed and replaced by a muscular synth bassline and four-on-the-floor beat. Fairly standard dance music, but done well.
- The Specialist -- The northern-soul stylings of the original are replaced with chopped-up two-step beats and a bouncy synth bassline; it works quite well; it would easily fit into a mix alongside Daft Punk or Röyksopp.
- December -- Starts off with a chunky beat not unlike The Cure's Close To Me put through a compressor; and then the vocal kicks in, followed by stomping beats and synth lines.
- Great Escapes -- Crunchy beats (which sound nothing like the Amen Brother-esque drums in the original), ring-modulation and synth arpeggios give this one a hard edge; and Autotune does odd things to Amy's voice.
- The Processed -- Starts with an acapella vocal and tape delay; then the usual electronic dance drums/synth arpeggios/bass kick in.
IMHO, there is perhaps slightly too much tape delay at the start, and the bass sounds a bit muddy. Competent, though not exceptional.
- Kinetic Factory -- One of my favourites from this disc; orchestral strings and woodwinds transform one of the most laid-back tracks on the original album into a much darker, more urgent affair; then the glitchy laptop jungle beats come in. The Björk comparisons are inevitable; it also reminded me of some of the mixes on FourPlay's Digital Manipulations compilation from a few years back.
- The Cleaner -- another favourite, with a loop from Minimum Chips' Arsene, with some IDM beats and Laura's vocal fighting a losing battle with Autotune, and managing to sound uncannily like Radiohead's Kid A. It takes an observant listener to pick the original song.
- The Cleaner (dub) -- The second and longer remix of The Cleaner, done dub style. Though don't expect Lee Perry-style classicism; there is some vaguely 808-ish percussion, and the usual dubby basslines and tape delays, making good use of Cameron's Middle Eastern violin and the odd vocal fragment.
In summary, Processed is an interesting disc; the straight dance numbers are quite passable for the odd instance when you need a floor-filling club mix of a Ninetynine song, but the more ambient and experimental tracks really make the disc, counterpointing and riffing off Ninetynine's unconventional aesthetic.
So where can you get it? Well, that's the tricky part; it hasn't been officially released, and there don't seem to be any plans to change this. (It was an unsolicited remix effort by a friend of the band, and not actually commissioned by anyone.)
There are copies floating around; if you know the right people (or are lucky), you can get one. Though perhaps, in the fullness of time, it will see the light of day one way or another. Keep your fingers crossed.
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